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Imprinting
"It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like gravity moves; suddenly, it's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does. You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, a lover or a friend." ~Dominic towards Ariana~ Imprinting is the involuntary mechanism by which werewolves find their soul-mates. It is a profound and intimate phenomenon that exists among all werewolves despite the internal ramifications. Description A werewolf imprints on the person he's bound to the moment he sees her. It is described as being pulled toward that person, while a glowing heat fills him; the connection with everything else is severed, and only the imprintee is left to matter, leaving the werewolf with a deep need to provide the imprintee anything she needs or wants. Imprinting can't be forced on anyone, no matter how much the werewolf may want it. How imprinting will be for her is currently unknown. If an imprintee is killed, the imprinter will never be able to forget or forgive. If the killer happens to be another werewolf, there would be no other choice than to fight to the death. Therefore, the most important law among werewolves is that no wolf may kill or harm a fellow wolf's imprintee. It is unknown whether werewolves could go one day without being in contact with his imprintee, the separation involved potentially causing both of them pain. What would happen if a wolf was rejected by his imprintee is also unknown, though this is assumed to be almost impossible; the imprinter is deemed to be the "perfect match" to the imprintee; he will be anything she may want or need, making rejection extremely unlikely. Should it happen, the imprinter may feel unspeakable pain. It is implied that once a werewolf imprints he/she be able to spend the rest of his/her life aging alongside his imprintee once he's able to quit phasing. It's also implied that should the imprintee be long-living or immortal, the imprinter may live alongside her as long as he can phase every so often. It is unknown whether werewolves will stop transfiguring and for how long before breeding. Stages of Imprinting There are stages to imprinting, especially if the werewolf imprints on a child, or otherwise the imprintee is very young. 1st Stage - If the person is young, the werewolf will act as an older sibling. 2nd Stage - As the person grows older, the werewolf will also come to be their best friend. 3rd Stage - They become intimate friends. Meaning, their feelings for each other are changing into romantic feelings. (Remember, this stage may or may not happen to the imprintee, but the imprinter will fall in love with his imprint. They will not 'see' any other woman or man in a romantic way, at all. Their imprintee is all he/she cares about and he/she will love her/him even if those feelings aren't returned.) 4th Stage - When the imprintee is old enough, the werewolf's feelings grow into romantic/sexual love. The werewolf will be at all times very protective and loving to the imprintee. Rationale For Imprinting The reason for imprinting is unknown. Dominic believes that werewolves imprint on the specific person with whom he has the best chance to fall in love with and reproduce. How this applies to Dominic and Ariana is debatable. Marcus, however, thinks that imprinting is designed to make werewolves stronger. While never stated directly, Marcus's theory may explain Destiny's imprinting on Vincent; she may provide him with the greatest support, or if they can reproduce, some vampiric traits (such as hardened skin, superior abilities, perfect memory, or supernatural gifts) may be transferred to werewolves, reducing their imminent weaknesses in immortal form. Werewolves Known to Have Imprinted *Dominic on Ariana *Destiny on Vincent Imprintee Thus far, only male werewolves have imprinted, invariably on a woman, regardless of her age:Unlike her imprinter, the imprintee can choose whether she'll accept him as her 'soulmate' or not. It is however implied that a rejection is highly unlikely, since it is said that it would be very hard to resist the levels of "commitment, compatibility and adoration". After-Effects of Imprinting Even though the werewolf has imprinted, it doesn't necessarily mean he won't suffer a little if it can't be helped, though he would instantly break the heart of his loved one before this imprinting. If the imprintee is too young to date, and may understand when she gets old enough, the imprinter would still not date, since he does not 'see' any other face to do so. It is unknown what effects the imprintee's rejection would have on the imprinter, but it's implied that he would enter an irrational rampage and badly hurt her. If something horribly drastic were to happen so that the imprintee sacrifices herself for his/her family, then the same consequences of the third wife's sacrifice are bound to occur, bringing much pain to all involved. Apparently, even after the werewolf has stopped transfiguring and lived a so called normal life with his soulmate, he could still transfigure back into a wolf if he's angry enough; most notably if his imprintee has come to any harm. Pack Laws If an imprintee is killed, the imprinter will never be able to forget or forgive the person responsible for her death. In the case of the killer being another pack member, the inevitable result is a fight to the death. As a consequence, the most absolute law among all werewolves is that no wolf may kill or harm a fellow's imprinted one, to avoid the resulting bloodshed. Category:Werewolves Category:Supernatural Category:Wolf Packs